Untitled
by Sesshieluver89
Summary: HPIY xover. It's been 10 years since the jewel was completed and now Kagome's been offered a job at Hogwarts. While at the school, she finds out about Sirius' death and swears to bring him back to life. Takes place in Harry's 6th year.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, alright… I know I shouldn't be starting another story, especially since I never update my other ones. But I got excited about the sixth Harry Potter book coming out in July, so I wanted to do a Harry Potter crossover with my favorite anime of all time… Inuyasha! So enjoy!

Oh, and I don't read a lot of Harry Potter and Inuyasha crossovers, meaning I'm not sure if this like an existing story. But if this does resemble one already written, let me know and I'll take this down.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Harry Potter.

Chapter One

A lone barn owl swooped down from the midmorning sky, startling the humans it flew over. Several sets of eyes watched as the owl once again ascended and flew towards the Higurashi Shrine that was located at the end of the street. It soon disappeared into the clouds overhead, only to reappear moments later when it settled on a branch in the Goshinboku. After looking around for a moment, the owl spotted its target across the courtyard, firing arrow after arrow at a target positioned on a wooden shed. It took flight yet again and moved to the young woman who stopped shooting the arrows to watch the flight pattern of the large bird. Her eyes widened in surprised as she noticed the envelope clutched in the owl's talons and she was even more shocked when it released the letter above her head. She allowed it to flutter down and rest gently on her head before grabbing it and ripping it open to quickly read its contents.

After finishing the short letter the woman raced into the house to ask her mother for some advice. "Mom!" Opening the kitchen door, the young woman approached the older woman and asked her about the letter. "Mom, this letter is signed by great-uncle Albus. Do I even really have a great-uncle Albus?"

"Yes Kagome, you do. He's on your father's side of the family. Last time he saw you was when you were a few months old."

"Does he really run this Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" At her mother's nod, Kagome continued. "Are you serious? A school of witchcraft and wizardry? It's only because I've experienced weirder things that I'm believing this right now. Well, should I take the job?"

"What job, dear?"

"I was offered a job as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"That's wonderful! This would be an excellent opportunity for you, Kagome! You could finally have a real job and not have to keep traveling back and forth between our world and theirs!"

"But I like the Feudal Era. Since it's been ten years since the jewel was completed, it's finally gotten quiet. Life is peaceful at last and it's absolutely wonderful! But this job does sound interesting. It says in the letter that I would have to go to the school early to learn some spells and other such things, and I would also have time to plan my lessons any way I liked."

Mrs. Higurashi was quiet for a moment. "Well? Is it a yes or a no?"

"I think I'll take the job. I mean, it's only for a year, so if I don't like it I can quit next year and return to the life I'm living now," Kagome said.

"I have one question though, dear. Do you really think you can get away from the Feudal Era without a fight from your oh-so-lovable older brother?"

Kagome smiled at her mother. "Inuyasha isn't a problem. I figured out a long time ago how to deal with him."

"And how is that?"

"Either 'sit' him until he becomes unconscious or the less violent way would be to tell him I'll visit him so that he doesn't worry." She looked out the window and noticed the barn owl sitting in the Goshinboku again. "What do I call Albus Dumbledore? Do I call him Albus, Dumbledore, or something else?"

"You could probably call him Uncle Albus. Why?"

"I think I'm supposed to send back an answer because the owl that brought the letter is still here," Kagome said while indicating the waiting bird.

"Well you should hurry up and do that so you can go tell Inuyasha and the others."

Kagome nodded and ran upstairs to quickly right a reply. It only took a few minutes to respond to Dumbledore's letter and when she finished she raced back downstairs and out of the house to the God tree. Stopping below the branch the owl was perched on, Kagome motioned for it to come down and it complied after a moment. "Could you take this back to Uncle Albus?" She took the owl sticking its leg out as a yes and tied the note to it.

"Now to go tell Inuyasha and the others." She turned to the well house and strode over to it. After throwing open the doors, she descended the steps and, without hesitation, jumped into the dry well at the bottom. Before she reached the bottom of the well, swirling blue lights enveloped her and gently set her down in the Feudal Era moments later. Kagome wasted no time in using the vines creeping up the well to pull herself out and into the fresh air. She inhaled deeply and smiled happily as she took in the clean air that could only be found in that time. Her peaceful moment was ruined, however, when Inuyasha crashed into the clearing yelling her name.

"Kagome! Where the hell have you been?"

"I told you I was going home for a while, Inuyasha. And before you start talking again, I need to tell you that I've accepted a job in England and I'll be gone for nearly a year."

"What? You can't leave for that long! Who'll protect you?"

"Inuyasha, I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm twenty-eight years old and I've been trained by the best. I am quite capable of taking care of myself." Kagome crossed her arms and glared defiantly at the hanyou standing before her.

He noticed the dangerous look in her eyes and switched to another strategy. "But what about Shippou? You can't leave him for a whole year," Inuyasha pointed out.

"It won't be a whole year and I'm taking him with me anyway."

"But that's not fair! How come he gets to go?"

"Because he's my son and I'm supposed to take care of him. You, however, are old enough to be left alone. So I'm going to go get Shippou and tell the others I'm leaving."

Inuyasha had nothing else to say, so he walked back with her silently. When they reached the village Shippou wasted no time and immediately tackled Kagome. "Mama! I missed you!"

Kagome smiled down at the kit and said, "I was only gone for two days Shippou-chan."

"But it seemed like longer!"

A giggle escaped Kagome at the look on Shippou's face. "Don't worry Shippou. This time you're coming with me."

The kit lifted his head and asked, "Where are we going?"

They had continued to walk as they talked, so by the time they made it Kaede's hut the others were able to hear Kagome's answer. "We're going to England for about a year."

"Kagome-sama, why are you leaving for so long?" Miroku asked.

"My great-uncle offered me a job as a teacher, so I accepted. I have to lave early too so I can learn the spells I'll need."

Sango, who was now confused, asked, "Spells? Why would you need spells as a teacher, Kagome-chan?"

"Oh, Uncle Albus is the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was offered the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Kagome replied.

"Wow, that's great Kagome-chan! You'll get even stronger than you are right now, which is saying something."

Kagome smiled. "I know. I can't wait until I start learning the curses. They'll be most helpful when it comes to the youkai that still come after the jewel."

"When exactly do you leave, Kagome-sama?"

"I'm not sure yet. I just sent a reply a little while ago. But I don't think it will be too long until I'm told where to go." Looking at her watch, Kagome continued, "I think Shippou and I should go now, though. We still need to buy him some clothes and we need to pack just in case we're supposed to leave sometime soon." Kagome then went and hugged Sango and, very carefully, hugged Miroku too. After a promise to visit during the Christmas break, Kagome, Shippou, and Inuyasha walked back to the well. Before jumping in Kagome turned to Inuyasha and said, "I'll be sure to leave you directions on how to get to the school so you can reach me if there's an emergency." She hugged him and then picked up Shippou and jumped into the well.

After climbing out of the well Kagome and Shippou walked into the kitchen and saw, to their surprise, a screech owl sitting on the back of one of the chairs.

"Mom, why's another owl here?"

Her mother looked up from her cooking with a startled expression on her face. "Oh, it's you Kagome. You scared me." After catching her breath, Mrs. Higurashi answered Kagome's question. "I'm not positive why it's here, but I think it's from Dumbledore."

Kagome untied the letter from the owl's leg and hurriedly read it. "It says he'll pick me up tomorrow at eleven in the morning and take me to buy everything I'll need."

"What about this little cutie? Doesn't he need clothes?"

"Yeah, I'm going to take him shopping and then we'll pack. Could I borrow the car?"

"Of course, dear. Hurry back though. Dinner will be ready soon and you still need to pack."

"Shippou-chan, exactly how long can you maintain an illusion now?"

"Well, my power grows with age and if I could maintain an illusion for an hour when I was eight, I should be able to hold it for a little over two hours now that I'm eighteen."

"Alright. Could you put an illusion on yourself then?"

He nodded and did so. As they were walking to the car, Shippou asked, "How come you've never asked why I'm still so small even though I'm eighteen?"

Kagome looked surprised at his question but smiled nonetheless. "I didn't really want to ask a personal question like that. And besides, I like you this way. You're still my little boy for a while longer. But why would you ask that?"

Shippou shrugged. "I was just wondering."

"You wonder about some strange stuff, Shippou-chan."

/ The next day \\\\\

"Shippou! Wake up! It's almost eleven!"

Shippou sprang up in alarm, his tail standing on end. After he realized there was no danger, he settled down and actually started to listen to Kagome, who was still talking.

"Shippou-chan! You need to get dressed! Uncle Albus will be here any minute!" Just as she finished that sentence, the doorbell rang. A few seconds later Kagome's mother called up the stairs that Dumbledore just arrived.

Kagome and the now-dressed Shippou raced downstairs to see an old man with a long silver beard and half-moon glasses accepting a glass of tea from Mrs. Higurashi. When he noticed them he smiled.

"Ah, Kagome. How nice to see you again."

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So that's the first chapter! Not as long as had hoped, but it's not bad for a beginning. The ending could have been better though. Anyway, review and tell me what ya think! And if you have any ideas for the title, please tell me!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Inuyasha.

Chapter Two

/ An hour after Dumbledore arrived \\\\\

"I believe we should go now Kagome," Dumbledore said. "We have quite a bit to buy for the both you and Shippou."

"Alright. But where do you buy things that are needed for magic? And how are we going to get there?" Kagome asked.

Dumbledore smiled gently at her and motioned to the fireplace. "We are going to use Floo powder."

"Floo powder?"

The old wizard nodded. "Throw a pinch of it into the fireplace, step into the flames, and clearly say 'The Leaky Cauldron.' From there we can get to Diagon Alley where we will buy all of your supplies."

Kagome looked nervous as she grabbed a pinch of Floo powder from a bag Dumbledore pulled out of a pocket in his robes. She tossed the powder into the fireplace and watched as emerald flames erupted. After a moment's hesitation, she stepped into the flames and said, "The Leaky Cauldron." To her surprise, it felt like she started to spin. It quickly stopped though as she emerged, covered in soot and ash, in what appeared to be a pub. A few minutes later, Shippou and Dumbledore appeared in the fireplace (separately of course).

A talk seemed to stop in the previously noisy pub as Dumbledore stepped forward. He ignored the silence and strode toward a door that led to a small courtyard where there was nothing but a trash can and some weeds. Kagome and Shippou followed closely and watched as Dumbledore tapped the bricks in the wall in a special order. For a moment they thought that he had gone crazy, but then watched in shock as a hole appeared in the wall and grew into a large archway.

"I believe I wish to borrow Hagrid's line and say, 'Welcome to Diagon Alley,'" Dumbledore said with a small smile at his two surprised companions.

Kagome and Shippou followed Dumbledore as he walked through the archway and they looked around in excitement at all of the shops. Shippou's eyes went large at the sight of Quality Quidditch Supplies, which still had the Firebolt on display in one of the windows.

"Mama, can I get a broomstick?"

Kagome looked skeptically at the shop and replied, "We'll see, Shippou-chan."

He pouted at that but then brightened up when he decided that her answer was better than a no. "Where are we going first?"

"We need to go to Gringotts. As of right now you do not have a vault, meaning you have no money. However, I am going to get you your own vault and transfer half of my savings to it."

"Half? Don't you think that's a little too much? You shouldn't transfer more than a quarter, if any amount at all," Kagome said.

"Nonsense. I dare say I have to much contained within my vault and I need to get rid of some of it."

Kagome was about to reply when they arrived at a white building with bronze doors. Goblins in uniform were standing near the doors and bowed as the three walked inside. They past another set of doors, these ones silver, before entering a marble hall full of more goblins.

Dumbledore led the way to a counter that another goblin was sitting behind. "Excuse me, I wish to transfer half of my vault's contents over to Miss Higurashi's. However, she doesn't have a vault yet."

The goblin looked down at a piece of paper sitting in front of him and then looked back up at Dumbledore. "Are you positive you want a vault? Or do you wish for a safe?"

Dumbledore answered, "A vault."

"Then vault six hundred and eight is available. Griphook will take you to it after the transfer is complete. Until then, please go sit on that bench." The goblin then turned back to weighing jewels and Kagome, Shippou, and Dumbledore went to sit on the bench.

It was about five minutes later when another goblin approached and said, "Follow me please." They followed him to a passageway with railway tracks that sloped downward. He whistled and a cart appeared and he ushered them all into it. As soon as they were all sitting the cart took off an arrived at Kagome's newly filled vault a few minutes later.

Griphook approached the vault and, with one finger, stroked it and it seemed to melt. Kagome's mouth fell open in astonishment and Shippou shouted, "That was so cool!"

After composing herself, Kagome walked into the vault and looked at the mounds of gold, silver, and bronze coins, as well as the smaller piles of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds. Turning to Dumbledore she asked, "This is only half of your savings!" At his nod, she shook her head in disbelief and asked how much money she needed.

"You shouldn't need very much. All you really need to buy is a wand for each of you and some robes. Unless, of course, Shippou will be attending Hogwarts as a first year?"

Shippou started to hop up and down in excitement. "Oh, can I mama? Please, please, please?"

Kagome was silent for a moment before nodding her head. "If you want to."

Shippou cheered as Kagome filled up a small pouch, supplied by Dumbledore, with gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts. With the bag now bulging, they all piled into the cart once again and it sped up to ground level. They exited Gringotts and then headed to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"Kagome, you may get any color robes you want. However, Hogwarts students are required to wear plain black work robes. Shippou, you'll also need a black winter cloak with silver fastenings and a black pointed hat. And I believe you're supposed to buy one pair of dragon hide gloves. All of these things can be bought at Madam Malkin's shop."

They entered the shop and it was about half an hour before all of their robes were ready. After leaving Madam Malkin's shop, they went to Flourish and Blotts where Shippou had to buy his course books. "Uncle Albus, what books are needed for the first years?"

"I have a list here somewhere…" Dumbledore trailed off as he rummaged through multiple pockets before finally yelling, "Ah ha!" and brandishing the list. Holding the list up, he read, "'All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

_Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore

_Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

and

_Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander.'

The first years will also need the books you assign them, Kagome."

"Well, I don't know much about what I'm supposed to teach. Do you have any suggestions?"

Dumbledore nodded. "_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ by Quentin Trimble is an excellent book for stidents. Or there's a set of books that I would recommend, except I can't seem to remember the author's name. The books, however, are titled _Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts_. There are also _Self-Defensive Spellwork_, _Jinxes for the Jinxed_, and _The Dark Arts Outsmarted_, which are all excellent books whose authors I have forgotten." He grinned at his sudden forgetfulness and Kagome grinned back.

"How about narrowing it down a bit?"

Dumbledore was quiet for a moment before he stated, "_Practical Defensive Magic and It's Use Against the Dark Arts_ would be the best, I think. The books could be used for all of your classes because they cover nearly all of the jinxes currently known to mankind as well as several curses that could be taught to the older students."

"But what about teaching students how to repel certain creatures?"

"That will be taught in class, so you're the only one who will need a book about that."

Kagome nodded and they continued to look around the store at other books before they decided to move on. They had bought Shippou's pewter, standard size two cauldron, his set of crystal phials, his telescope, his brass scales, and a small snowy owl before moving on to Ollivanders.

When they entered the shop, they were greeted by an old man who immediately moved to measure Shippou in odd places, such as around his head and from knee to armpit. He went to the back of the shop and pulled out a box and then brought it back out to Shippou. Taking the wand out, Mr. Ollivander handed to Shippou and told him to give it a wave. Shippou did so and a vase full of flowers shattered. Mr. Ollivander shook his head, muttered something, and went to the back of the store again. It took a few more tries before Shippou was finally presented with an eight inch maple wand with a phoenix feather core.

Now turning his attention to Kagome, he merely stared at her. After circling her a few times Mr. Ollivander said, "There is no wand in the world capable of channeling your power."

"What?" Kagome stared at the old man in confusion.

"You are powerful. I dare say more powerful than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Any wand you try to use will be destroyed under the pressure."

"So what am I supposed to use?"

He looked at her strangely before replying, "Your hands, of course."

Kagome paid for Shippou's wand and they all left Ollivanders and went back to the Leaky Cauldron. The pub wasn't as busy as before, so their entrance wasn't as big of a deal. The three of them once again grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and, following Dumbledore's instructions, said "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster's Office."

When Kagome and Shippou arrived in the office, they looked around in awe. Dumbledore arrived a moment after them and smiled at the childish looks of glee on their faces. They then visited the kitchens where the house elves were happy to supply them with plenty of food, and when they were finally stuffed, Dumbledore showed them to Kagome's room.

"Get a good night's rest, Kagome. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

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If you guys find any mistakes about the Harry Potter stuff, let me know. I've looked up all of the names of the stores and the books, so they are actual names that J. K. Rowling came up with. And don't forget to give me your ideas for titles. Oh, and review please!


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, first of all, I'd like to thank the few people who reviewed! Second, I'd like to address the pairings. In the first chapter I mentioned that Kagome was twenty-eight years old, so that rules out Harry, Ron, and any other students. When I started to plan out this story, the only pairing I had in mind was Kagome and Sirius. But if I have too many people that don't want that pairing then I guess I can change it. Just make sure to let me know!

The Sorting will be in this chapter and I'm not even going to attempt to write a new song. So I'm just going to use the one from Harry's first year.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Inuyasha.

Chapter Three

"Try again Kagome," Professor Flitwick said. Kagome took a deep breath and tried again to perform a Summoning Charm. This time, the book she was aiming at zoomed across the room and landed in her outstretched hand. "Oh, very good! Try it on that desk over there!" Kagome did so and Flitwick started cheering again. "Well, I think you've got that one down. I believe that ends our session for the day. You're supposed to go see Severus now, aren't you?"

Kagome nodded. "But to tell you the truth, I'm not excited about it. He isn't the easiest person to get along with."

"Yes, that's very true. But he's the best person to teach Potions."

Kagome shrugged. "I guess so." After putting everything back in its original spot in the classroom, Kagome turned to Flitwick and said, "Thanks for teaching me. See you tomorrow!"

Kagome walked down to the dungeons and entered Snape's classroom. As soon as she walked in, she noticed that he was standing in front of his desk glaring at her. "You're late."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Wow, I'm late by a whole minute. That's really gonna matter."

Snape just continued to glare at her. "Hurry up and get started. You're doing the Draught of Peace today. The instructions are already on the board and I'll help you if you mess it up, as I'm sure you will."

Kagome made sure to send a deadly glare back at him when he said that, but she made no verbal reply. She worked in silence as Snape watched her and after an hour and a half, her Draught of Peace was done. "So? How is it?" Snape said nothing to her and she grinned. "I guess I didn't mess it up, huh? I'll be sure to try and mess tomorrow's potion up a bit for you."

Kagome once again cleaned up and, without another word to Snape, left the classroom to go search for Shippou. She found him with Professor McGonagall, learning to transfigure a desk into a pig. "Isn't that a little advanced for a first year, Minerva?"

McGonagall looked up from her examination of the pig and answered, "Yes, but Shippou's extraordinarily gifted with transfiguration. This," she said, indicating the pig, "is perfect. I can't find a flaw with it."

Shippou beamed at Kagome and she congratulated him. "That's great! So I guess passing this class won't be too hard for you Shippou?"

"Nope. This is gonna be so fun!"

"Just try not to appear too gifted for your classmates. They might get jealous," McGonagall said. "But, I would like to know if you are able to do human transfiguration."

"He can try it on me," Kagome said excitedly. "I want to know what it feels like to be transfigured. It might give me an idea of what it's like to be an Animagus."

"Why do you want to know what it's like to be an Animagus?"

"I'm thinking of trying to become one."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at her. "Really now? And what form would you take?"

"I was thinking of either a fox or a dog."

Shippou started to hop up and down. "A fox! You have to become a fox!"

"Minerva, exactly how long does it take to become an Animagus?"

"It took me two years. But both you are more gifted in transfiguration than I was when I was younger. For you Kagome, it shouldn't take more than a year."

Kagome nodded. "Alright. Well, let's get on with Shippou's practice."

McGonagall told Shippou what to do and he followed her directions exactly. When he was done, Kagome was a perfect fox. He turned her back into a human after a moment and jumped onto her shoulder. "When are you gonna start studying to become an Animagus?"

"I'll start tomorrow. I'm nearly done with my crash course in magic and I've pretty much got all of my classes planned out." She turned to McGonagall and asked, "Could you please help me with it a bit?"

"Of course. But for right now I want dinner and my bed."

/ A week later \\\\\

Kagome was sitting at her desk, putting the finishing touches on her lesson plans when Shippou came running into the room. "Mama! The Hogwarts Express just pulled into the station! The students are gonna be here in a few minutes! Dumbledore says you're supposed to be at the staff table before they get here."

Kagome put away her papers and stood up. "Alright then. Let's go."

They walked down multiple staircases before they arrived in the entrance hall, where the new first years were already assembled. "There you are Shippou! Hurry and get in line," McGonagall said in a strict voice. "And Kagome, you should already be in the Great Hall."

With a smile, Kagome said, "I'm going, I'm going." She quickly turned into the hall and walked up to the staff table, sitting on Dumbledore's left. She quickly glanced over the students that filled the Great Hall and came to rest on a section of the Gryffindor table. The whole area had a sad aura about it, but none so much as a black-haired boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. She turned to Dumbledore and asked in a whisper, "Uncle Albus, why does most of Gryffindor have a sad aura?"

Dumbledore looked at the table and then turned back to Kagome. "At the end of last year, five Gryffindor students and one Ravenclaw student infiltrated the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries. We sent several of our allies after them, including Harry's," he nodded at the black-haired boy, "godfather. When the allies arrived, the students were under attack. In an unfortunate turn of events, Harry's godfather was killed. He meant a lot to four of the Gryffindor students. They have recovered a bit, but they are still very saddened by it. Especially Harry."

"What exactly happened to get his godfather killed?"

"I cannot tell you that. The only way for you to find out what happened is if one of them decides to tell you." The doors to the Great Hall opened and Dumbledore said, "For now, let's just watch the Sorting."

Professor McGonagall led a line of first year students to stand in front of the staff table, facing the other students. Kagome found Shippou near the end of the line and smiled at his nervousness. Professor McGonagall set a stool down in front of the line of first years and they all noticed an old patched hat sitting on it. A rip near the brim opened and the hat started to sing:

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head _

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall clapped and then McGonagall stepped forward with a list in her hands. "When I call your name, come forward and sit on the stool. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and it will sort you into your house. Adler, John!"

A small, freckle-faced boy moved out of the line. The hat was placed on his head and it was a minute before the hat yelled out, "RAVENCLAW!"

McGonagall continued down the list until she reached, "Higurashi, Shippou!" Shippou was easily the smallest of the new students and so when the hat was put on his head, it covered his entire face instead of just his eyes.

Shippou was surprised when he heard a voice say in his ear, "You have an excellent mind, I can see. Perfect for Ravenclaw. You are brave, too. A characteristic of Gryffindor. There's a darker side there as well. You have lost control before. Not enough to put you in Slytherin, though. Hmm… You have faced many dangers for those you love. Ah yes, it has to be… GRYFFINDOR!"

A great roar of applause erupted from the Gryffindor table and Shippou hoped off the stool and ran over to join his new house. He caught Kagome's eye from the staff table and smiled at her.

When the last first year was sorted, Dumbledore stood up to say, "Tuck in." Food appeared in the dishes on the house tables and the students dug in. When all of the food was cleared from the tables, Dumbledore stood up again. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden and that magic is not allowed in the corridors. Mr. Filch has also added a few more objects to the list of objects that are forbidden inside the castle. The list now includes Portable Swamps, Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs, and several other products that can be bought at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. A full list has been posted on Mr. Filch's office door. Now, I would like to introduce to everyone your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor: Kagome Higurashi!"

The students and most of the staff clapped for her and several people laughed when she stuck her tongue out at Snape, who was the only teacher that refused to give her a warm welcome.

At Gryffindor table, even Harry smiled at her behavior. Ron was one of the many that had laughed and he said, "Well, at least she's another person who doesn't really like Snape. She should be easy to get along with."

Harry and Hermione agreed. Ron suddenly yawned and said, "Let's go on up to the tower. I'm tired and I want to go to bed."

"Ron, you know we're supposed to lead the first years to Gryffindor Tower," Hermione said in a disapproving voice.

"Well then, why don't you go round up that runt while I get the others?" Ron nodded to Shippou, who was making his way toward the staff table.

"Where does he think he's going?" Hermione went after him, but by the time she caught up with him he was already walking around the table to the side where the teachers sat. Hermione watched as he walked up to Kagome and she leaned down and hugged him. By now, Hermione was close enough to hear what they were saying.

"Goodnight Shippou. You behave yourself alright?"

"Yes, Mama. Goodnight." He noticed Snape (who he got along well with) watching the two of them and, following Kagome's example, stuck his tongue out at him, although Shippou's was in a teasing way. Snape gave him a small smile and then turned to Filch, who was trying to get his attention.

Hermione was surprised, but managed to conceal it as she walked closer. "Shippou? Could you come with me please? I'm supposed to help show first years where to go."

Shippou walked behind her over to the group of other Gryffindor first years and then instantly joined in a conversation.

Meanwhile, Hermione went and joined Ron and Harry, shook her head disbelievingly, and said, "I can't believe I didn't make the connection immediately."

"What are you talking about, Hermione?"

"Shippou _Higurashi_. Kagome _Higurashi_." She indicated Shippou. "He's our new professor's son."

Harry and Ron were quiet for a moment before Harry asked, "Are you sure? Or is it just a theory?"

"When I went to get him from the staff table I heard him call her 'Mama.'"

"Well, this could be good for Gryffindor, right? She's bound to favor him."

"I don't know about that," Hermione said, "but Shippou gets along well with Snape too."

Harry and Ron stopped walking and looked at her. "How do you know that?"

"Snape was watching them say goodnight to each other and Shippou stuck his tongue out at him."

"Snape didn't give him a detention?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. He smiled."

"Smiled? Are you sure you didn't imagine that, Hermione?"

A voice from behind them said, "No, she didn't imagine it." They turned around and saw Shippou at the back of the group of first years. He grinned at their bewildered looks and walked past them to stand in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. _"Woollongong." _Shippou stepped through the hole that led to the common room and the other first years followed him.

When Ron, Harry, and Hermione were the only ones left, Ron asked, "How did he know the password?"

Hermione instead asked, "More importantly, how did he hear us when he was in the back of a group of noisy children when we were whispering?"

/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\

I hope this chapter doesn't make anyone angry. I don't really like Snape, but I wanted to have it where he liked one Gryffindor, so I figured Shippou was perfect for the part. And if someone has a better password, let me know. The one I have now is just part of the name of a Quidditch move I found in _Quidditch Through the Ages_ and I don't really like it. But I wanted something weird, not like "fairy lights," which was in one of the books (I found that particular password to be boring). Anyway, review and tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow, it's been a while, huh? But I am going to blame the length of time it has taken for a new chapter on my evil computer rather than my own laziness. I did actually have two new chapters ready over a year ago, but my laptop died. When we took it to be fixed, the computer guy completely deleted my Windows registration and I couldn't get back on. So instead of rewriting the chapters I got too pissed to do anything besides my school work. But I feel really guilty about not updating anything so I'm gonna do it now. And by the way, I'm gonna stick this author's note on any of the stories that I update, so you don't have to bother reading it more than once if you read my other stories.

Anyway, enjoy my crappy writing skills! You probably won't see them again for a while.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Inuyasha.

Chapter Four

"Come on you two! I want to get my schedule!" Ron and Harry rolled their eyes at their impatient friend and slowly trailed behind her as they left Gryffindor Tower.

"It's not as though somebody else is gonna take it," Ron muttered behind Hermione's back. Unfortunately, she heard him and glared out of the corners of her eyes. She was stopped from retorting however when they arrived at the Great Hall to find McGonagall already handing out the schedules.

Hermione ran over just as McGonagall was handing Shippou his, and so she heard the professor say, "I have you in my first class Shippou. Try not to show off your NEWT level transfiguration, alright? We wouldn't want to make the other children jealous, would we?" She gave him a small smile and wink before moving on to another student.

"NEWT level? How is that possible?" Hermione was staring slack-jawed at the first year, who was decent enough to look embarrassed.

"Well… my mama had to come over the summer for a crash course in magic, so I kinda got taught some stuff too. Professor McGonagall said that I have a special talent for transfiguration though, so she kept challenging me with new stuff until we reached human transfiguration," Shippou responded while looking at the ground.

"Were you actually able to do human transfiguration? Or was that your limit?"

Shippou looked up and grinned. "I was actually able to do it. I turned my mama into a fox!" Hermione was silent after his answer, so he asked, "What's your name? I know I talked to you last night, but I don't think I ever asked your name."

"Oh, my name is Hermione Granger. These are my friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley," she said motioning towards the boys who had walked up behind her. Shippou waved before excusing himself to go to class.

"We got your schedule Hermione. I thought that's what you were doin' when you ran over to McGonagall," Ron grumbled.

"Well, Ronald, I was busy discovering that our new professor's son is a genius when it comes to transfiguration. So excuse me if I was too distracted to get my own schedule," she huffed.

Instead of waiting around to hear them continue their argument, Harry began walking to their first class: Defense Against the Dark Arts. He arrived at the room to find that he and Kagome were the only ones there.

Kagome smiled brightly when she saw Harry enter the classroom. "Hello Mr. Potter!"

He looked at her and couldn't help but smile back. "Hello professor."

She frowned and said, "Don't call me that. It makes me feel old. Whenever I hear that title I think of some old man teaching at a university… I would rather not be an old man thank you very much."

"What should we call you then?" Harry asked his eccentric teacher.

"Kagome of course."

"If I call you Kagome, you have to call me Harry. Calling someone 'mister' is just as bad as 'professor.'"

"Deal."

With her agreement, Harry moved to sit down in the front row. She noticed that when he wasn't occupied, he began to show signs of sadness. Another frown formed on her face. "Harry?" He looked up at her and she continued, "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "I'm fine."

"No you're not. You can trust me Harry. You may not know me well, but I would never tell anyone your secrets. It is a horrible thing to gossip."

He opened his mouth to respond, but the door swung open just as he was about to speak. The entire class was comprised of all eight Gryffindor sixth years, as well as the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that managed to get and "A" or better on their Defense OWLs.

"Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a nice summer!" The students merely grumbled under their breaths and Kagome grinned. "Guess it's too early for you guys too. Well don't worry. I'm not going to work you hard on the first day like all of your other teachers. Since I don't know any of you guys, I thought we could do a 'get to know you' kind of thing, and maybe do something small after that. Sound good?" A small cheer erupted from the students. "Alright then. How about you start us off," she said, pointing at Ron. "Give your name, house, and anything interesting about yourself you'd like to brag about."

"I'm Ron Weasley and I'm in Gryffindor. And I guess it's kind of interesting that I have five older brothers and one younger sister."

"FIVE? Wow. I thought I was lucky to have two," Kagome said, shocked at the number of brothers Ron had.

"Lucky? What kind of world do you live in? It's horrible having older brothers," Ron said.

"You say that now, but what would you do if you ever lost them?" Kagome asked. When Ron stayed silent, Kagome nodded. "See? You really do care for them. Now, moving on." She pointed to Parvati Patil. "How about you?"

Parvati told about herself, as did everyone else until there were only two left in the class. "Well, I think it's only you two left. Who wants to go first?"

Hermione raised her hand and Kagome smiled and nodded. "I'm Hermione Granger, I'm in Gryffindor, and I am the logical one in the Golden Trio, as the teachers call us."

"Golden Trio?"

Hermione nodded and explained, "Harry, Ron, and myself. We get into so much trouble and somehow miraculously get out of it that a few of the teachers gave us the name. A lot of students say that we got the name because Dumbledore favors us, which is not true." She grinned before going on, "He favors Harry."

Harry shook his head. "No he doesn't. He treats everyone equally."

A few of the students laughed good naturedly. Lavender said, "Yeah, he treats everyone equally. That is, if 'equally' means everyone but Harry gets in trouble."

"Alright, alright. Let's move on to Harry."

"Harry Potter. Gryffindor. I don't have anything interesting to brag about."

Surprisingly, it was Neville who spoke up. "Then let me brag for you. You defeated You-Know-Who when you were a baby, defeated him again in first year, went into the Chamber of Secrets and defeated his younger self in second year, fended of hundreds of dementors in third year, won the Triwizard Tournament and fought with You-Know-Who in fourth year, and survived another attack from him last year. Harry, you've accomplished more than most of the teachers here."

"Neville's right. You have to stop being so hard on yourself Harry," Padma Patil said.

"It seems that you are a much better person than you give yourself credit for, Harry. You should cherish the friendships you have and listen to the advice and support given to you," Kagome said quietly, looking straight in Harry's eyes.

She looked away after a moment and turned to the chalk board. "Now, you have three choices as to how we're going to spend the rest of this class." She flicked her wrist and the three choices appeared on the board. "One, I can start your first lesson by telling the legend of the Shikon no Tama. Two, you can duel each other so that I can assess your skills. Or three, your can read from the textbook for the rest of class." As she said the third choice, a smirk appeared on her face. "Time to vote. All in favor of number one? Two? And three?"

"I'm glad my plan worked. I kind of fixed the votes by making two unappealing choices. I knew you guys would rather listen to a legend than duel or read. You're all predictable," she said while shaking her head in mock disappointment. "Anyway, does anyone know anything about the legend of the Shikon?"

Hermione instantly raised her hand and Kagome asked her to tell all that she knew. "The Shikon no Tama was a mythical jewel of astounding power that could grant the wish of the one that possessed it. It fell into the protection of a miko, who eventually fell in love with a half demon that was trying to steal it. He tricked her into believing that he would use the jewel to become a full human, and instead attacked her. But before she died, she sealed the half demon to a tree and ordered that the jewel be burned with her body."

"That is the version told in books. There is very little in that version that is the truth. And in order to fully understand the power within the jewel, its origins must be examined."

"But I've looked in half of the library trying to find more information. The books never give more than what I just said."

"Then it's a good thing you have me. I know more about the jewel than just about anyone else. Okay, the origins of the jewel." Kagome then proceeded to tell the story of Midoriko and her fight with the demons. "After the jewel split from Midoriko's body it came to reside in the village of demon exterminators before being passed on to the miko Kikyou. Now, Kikyou did fall in love with the half demon Inuyasha, and he did promise to use the jewel to become a human, but this is where everyone gets the story wrong. Inuyasha did not betray Kikyou. On the day they were supposed to meet, a half demon named Naraku disguised himself as Inuyasha and attacked Kikyou. He also disguised himself as Kikyou and attacked Inuyasha. Because he believed that Kikyou had tried to kill him, Inuyasha attacked the village and stole the jewel. But before he got away, Kikyou sealed him to a tree called the Goshinboku and ordered the jewel to be burned with her body."

"What reason did Naraku have for attacking them?" Harry asked.

Before Kagome could respond, class ended. "I'll answer your question next class, Harry. And we'll also finish going over the legend. See you guys tomorrow!"

The students gathered their belongings and walked out of the classroom. Ron looked excited and said, "I can't wait to hear the rest of the legend. It's cool how she's not loading down with all kinds of homework yet. Hey, maybe she won't ever give us homework!"

"I doubt that. She just wants to get a feel for teaching instead of jumping in head first," Hermione responded.

"So Harry, what were you two talking about before the rest of us came in?"

"Nothing. She was just telling me that she would prefer being called Kagome by her students so that she didn't feel as old."

"As far as teachers go, she's really young. The youngest since Remus," Ron said before grinning. "I bet she and Remus would make a good couple. Or her and Sir- ow!" Ron turned to glare at Hermione before he realized what he had just said and turned back to Harry. "I'm sorry, mate."

"It's no big deal. I know he's gone, it's just hard to accept it sometimes," Harry said, staring at the ground. He suddenly stopped, causing Ron and Hermione to look at him strangely. "You guys go on to class. I'll be there in a bit."

They watched as he turned and started to walk back toward the Defense classroom. "You think we should follow him, Hermione?"

"No. I think we should go to class like he told us to. If he wants us to know what he's doing, then he'll tell us."

"If you say so."

///// With Harry \\\\\

"Kagome?" Harry asked as he pushed open the door. He saw her at the back of the room looking out the window at the forest.

"Hello Harry. Did you need something?"

"I was wondering if you had a class right now." When she shook her head, he asked, "Then can I talk to you?"

"Of course Harry." She transfigured two of the wooden chairs at the desks into plush armchairs.

"You told me before class that I could trust you, and for some reason I can't explain I really want to. I need to talk to someone about it, but I just can't with my friends or with Dumbledore. Would you mind listening to me for a while?"

"Harry, I am at your disposal. Talk away."

He took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. "Did Dumbledore happen to tell you about my godfather?"

"He only told me that he passed away."

Harry took a shuddering breath and shook his head. "It was all my fault. I kept seeing Voldemort hurting him, killing him. Everyone said it was just a dream, but it felt so real I thought that there was no way it was fake. When none of the adults would listen to me, I tried leaving on my own. But my friends wanted to tag along, so I let them." He paused and let out a humorless laugh. "Big mistake. They could have all been killed." His head dropped into his hands. "Dumbledore was right; it was a trap. We fought off a lot of the Death Eaters before the Order arrived. Sirius, my godfather, was with them, and he got into a fight with his cousin. He was taunting her." Harry paused again for a few moments. "She eventually managed to hit him and he fell into the Veil." Harry shook his head forcefully a few times as he said, "I tried to follow him. But they wouldn't let me go." The tears were falling steadily now as he looked Kagome in the eyes. "They said he was gone."

Kagome felt tears form in her own eyes as she leaned forward to embrace Harry. "Harry, as long as you still love him, he'll never truly be gone. You know that. And I don't think he would want you to mourn him like this. No parent wants that for their child, and I'm sure no godparent would want it either."

"I know, I just can't help it." After a few seconds Harry laughed and said, "I can just imagine his reaction to my mourning. He would probably poke me and call me a baby."

Kagome gave him a small smile. "Really? That doesn't sound very mature."

"Sirius was the farthest from mature that an adult could possibly be. He and his friends were always pranksters growing up, and that followed him into adulthood."

"Would you mind telling me about him a little?" Harry shook his head and began a story of the Marauders that Remus had told him, and after that he told of a prank that Sirius had played on Mrs. Weasley, much to his misfortune. Without even realizing it, the storytelling ran straight into lunch without slowing down. But at the end of lunch Harry had to get ready to go to Potions.

As he was walking out the door he looked over his shoulder at Kagome and smiled. "Thank you Kagome."

She returned his smile tenfold and answered, "Anytime Harry. We're all here for you." As soon as her walked out the door she moved to sit at her desk.

"The Black Veil, huh? Well, that shouldn't be too hard." She grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and quickly wrote a note. As her next class was walking in, they saw her turn from the window with a brilliant smile lighting up her face.

///// Japan, a day later \\\\\

The former Lord of the Western Lands watched as an owl slowly made its way toward his window. When it finally landed, he removed the letter before sending the creature on its way. After reading the contents of the note, he quirked an eyebrow and headed to his vault, leaving the parchment lying on his desk.

_I need the Tenseiga._

Okay, I understand that after so long without updating the chapter should be longer, but this is all I've got for now. Hopefully I'll have something more up soon, but I'm not making any promises. But even if you're angry with me, review please.

Oh, and the "Golden Trio" thing. I swear I've read that somewhere before a long time ago, but I can't remember where. So if that's not a general kind of thing and it's really someone's personal idea, let me know in a review and I'll remove it. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Come on guys! I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry Ron," was Hermione's response.

He chose to ignore her and instead sat down at the table and started piling food onto his plate. After his mouth was full, he asked Harry why he had skipped Charms.

"Oh honestly Ron. That was disgusting," Hermione said, scrunching her nose up in distaste and then turning to Harry. "But I have to admit, it was a good question."

Harry was just about to answer when the Great Hall began to rumble. The shaking stopped momentarily only to begin again quickly. It continued to do this until the doors to the Hall burst open to reveal a white dog so large that it completely filled the door frame. Several people screamed and the teachers began to stand to fight, but Shippou jumped up from the Gryffindor table and stood in front of the monstrous canine to wave up at its face.

"Hi Sesshoumaru-sama!"

The dog began to glow, and as the glow completely enveloped its body it began to shrink. After several seconds Sesshoumaru stood before the entire Great Hall in his humanoid form. Shippou wasted no time and promptly jumped onto the older demon's shoulder.

Hermione began stuttering in surprise before she finally managed to say, "That's that Japanese Minister of Magic! Lord Sesshoumaru!" She turned quickly to her friends and asked, "What do you think he's doing here?"

Harry shrugged and just nodded toward Sesshoumaru, indicating that she should watch and see.

Sesshoumaru, with Shippou on his shoulder, walked up to the staff table and was greeted by Dumbledore who, despite his surprise at not seeing a decapitated Shippou, strode forward and bowed. "What a pleasant surprise Lord Sesshoumaru. I had no idea that you intended to visit us."

Sesshoumaru nodded at him and responded, "Nor did I." His gaze shifted to the staff table to focus on Kagome. "However, I received a request for a possession of mine with no explanation as to why it is needed. Imouto, why do require the Tenseiga?"

--

"The Tenseiga? What use would she have for it here?" Hermione whispered quietly to Ron and Harry.

Ron just looked confused and asked, "What's the Tenseiga?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as if he should know the answer but still replied, "It's a sword of healing. It is said that it can even bring back the dead. But I just don't understand why she would need it."

Harry looked up at Kagome and made eye contact, but she gave no indication of whether or not she was going to do what he hoped she was.

--

"That wasn't a very good greeting, Sesshoumaru," Kagome said with a fake pout. "I don't think I want to answer you now."

He began to walk out of the room with Shippou still on his shoulder and said, "Come."

She rolled her eyes but followed. Once they were out on the grounds, they moved toward the tree by the lake. "So do you want the quick version or the detailed version?" He gave her a look and she grinned. "Detailed then." She went on to tell of how Sirius died and how Harry reacted to his death.

When she was done Sesshoumaru sighed. "You cannot save everyone Kagome."

"I know, but if the Veil wasn't there then Harry's godfather would still be alive. The poor kid has lost so much, Onii-san. It doesn't seem fair that so much is expected of him while he gets nothing in return. At the very least, let him have his godfather." She looked up at him with tears forming in her eyes. "Please let me try Sesshoumaru."

He was silent for a moment before he nodded. "But just this once."

She smiled and jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck. "Thank you Sesshoumaru!"

"When are you going to attempt it?"

"In a few days. For now, I have to get used to teaching!"

--

"Harry, do you have any idea why Kagome would need the Tenseiga?" Hermione asked. He was silent as he stared at his plate. "You told her about Sirius didn't you? That's why you weren't in Charms." Harry's head snapping up was enough of an answer for her. "I don't want you to get your hopes up Harry. For the Tenseiga to be used, Kagome would need his body, which is in the Veil."

Harry's anger built up quickly and he yelled, "I know that Hermione! There's no way he can be brought back! He's dead!" He stormed out of the Great Hall and ran all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. When he entered the Common Room he saw Shippou sitting in a chair, staring into the fire.

The smaller boy looked up and, in a rare moment of maturity that was more fitting of his actual age, said, "You look angry. Is something wrong?"

"Why did Kagome want the Tenseiga?"

"Don't worry about it. My mama will tell everyone what she's gonna do if she wants you guys to know." Harry looked like he was about to yell again so Shippou cut him off by saying, "Harry, I know you want to know but you're going to have to trust her. She knows what she's doing."

They were both silent for a few minutes before Harry asked, "Is it true that the Tenseiga can bring back the dead?"

"Yeah, but it can be really picky. Whether a person can be brought back or not depends entirely upon its decision."

"Is it alive?" Harry asked with a confused look on his face.

"Not exactly. It's kinda hard to explain. It's like it can sense when someone wants to stay dead or if they don't deserve to be brought back and it won't work."

"Oh." Harry was quiet for a few more minutes before he realized something. "Hey, how does your mom even know the Japanese Minister of Magic?"

Shippou grinned. "Sesshoumaru-sama is my okaa-san's onii-san."

"What?"

"He's my mama's older brother."

Harry's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "Are you serious?" Shippou nodded, still grinning. "Hermione's going to have a heart attack when I tell her."

"When you tell me what?" Harry and Shippou looked to the portrait hole and saw Hermione standing there as Ron crawled through. "Well?"

"Kagome is Lord Sesshoumaru's little sister," Harry said, eager to see her response.

"What?! There's no way!"

Ron looked at her like she was crazy. "What's the big deal Hermione? So she's related to a Minister of Magic. What does it matter?"

"It doesn't really matter. I'm just surprised is all. I mean, if you had heard the stories of Lord Sesshoumaru's past, you would wonder how they could be related too. Especially considering the fact that he isn't even human."

"That's a little harsh, Hermione. I bet he's not that bad of a person," Ron said.

Shippou laughed. "No, she means that he's literally not human. He's a demon lord."

"Demon lord? Demons don't exist."

Hermione looked at him strangely. "First of all, yes they do. Second, if you want to fight about it we'll do that later. Kagome could probably put up a better argument than me anyway. And in case you've forgotten we have homework to do."

Harry and Ron groaned. But were pleasantly surprised when Shippou spoke again. "You know, I could put up a good argument too. Maybe even better than my mama."

"Oh really?" Hermione asked, not truly believing the smaller boy.

"Yep." Shippou nodded, but then frowned. "Well, I guess it's not really an argument that I'm thinking of giving. It's more along the lines of proof, if you guys are up for it."

"What, you mean you're gonna show us a demon or something?" Ron asked, still not believing in the existence of demons.

"Well… yeah I could do that. But I was really just gonna point out that Sessoumaru-sama entered the school as a giant dog. I thought that would be proof enough, but if you want to see another demon…" Shippou trailed off and looked around the room to make sure that they were alone and then quickly removed the glamour spell that Kagome had placed on him. Harry, Ron, and Hermione's eyes widened as suddenly teeth and fingernails sharpened to fangs and claws and as his ears became pointed and a ball of fluff appeared behind him. It was, of course, the first thing that Hermione noticed.

"Is that a tail?" At Shippou's nod, she strode forward and without hesitation began to pet it. Shippou frowned and moved away from her grasp before turning to face Ron.

"Well, still think that demons don't exist?"

Shippou did not, however, receive an answer, as Ron's eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted.

--

Kagome and Sesshoumaru had been sitting in a comfortable silence since Shippou left them under the tree, but now Kagome looked at her brother and asked, "Can you get me into the

Ministry?"

He looked over at her and then turned his amber gaze back to the lake. "Perhaps. But I will not be able to gain access to the Department of Mysteries for you."

"Then do you think it would be better if I broke in on my own? If Harry and his friends could do it then I'm sure I could."

Sesshoumaru was quiet for a moment. He then turned to her and gave her a small smirk. "You want me to answer 'yes' to that question." She grinned at him. "I suppose it would be more interesting for you if you were to handle the entire situation yourself."

"Yep." She suddenly stretched and stood up. "Well I'm gonna go inside. You coming?"

He stood and they began walking back toward the castle. They were nearly to the entrance when Sesshoumaru spoke again. "I will leave the Tenseiga with you for only five days. If you cannot resurrect the man in that time then I will do it for you." He gave her a look and continued, "And I know that you do not like it when I step in for you."

"Then maybe I should go tonight," she said with a pout. "So much for getting used to teaching first."

He untied the Tenseiga's sheath from his belt and handed it to her. "Do not get into too much trouble." She accepted the sword and began to back toward the shadow of the castle created by the setting sun. "And be safe." She smiled and then melted into the shadows.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Shippou had returned in time to see his mother disappear. "Is she going now?"

"Yes."

"How do you think she's gonna get his body back?"

Sesshoumaru, who had been watching the sun's descent, shifted his eyes to the smaller demon before moving to the sky once more. "I do not know."

/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\

Okay, well that's it for now. I know it's been a reeeaaaaalllllly long time since I've updated and I do apologize for that, but at least I finally got something done, right? Be sure to review and I'll try to get the next chapter up within a year this time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"I guess I should have planned this out better first."

Kagome stood in front of the Veil, her head tilted as she tried to figure out how she was going to retrieve Sirius' body from its depths. After staring at it from a distance for a few moments, she moved closer and began circling it. After a few rotations, she stopped in front of it again.

She sighed. "So…staying alive won't be a problem since I have Tenseiga. At least I don't think it will be a problem." She cast an uncertain glance down at the sword and received a comforting pulse in response. She grinned and continued talking to herself. "I just need to figure out how I'm gonna find my way back out of there." She became silent once more as she continued to stare at the Veil. Suddenly, she began talking to herself again after a few more moments. "Well, my magic works differently than a normal magical being's because it's based in my miko powers more than anything else, so I should still be able to perform magic in there, right?" Her head tilted in contemplation again. "I suppose I should test that theory out."

She took a deep breath and then formed a powerful barrier around herself with her miko powers. "This should be enough to test my magic in the Veil at least." She took another breath and then without further hesitation stepped into the Veil.

/

"No, I will not be at the school for long. I-"

Dumbledore, who had been walking alongside Sesshoumaru on the way to the Headmaster's office, looked over to the demon in confusion at the unfinished sentence. "Lord Sesshoumaru? Is something wrong?"

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes were wide in disbelief and his mouth had dropped open a bit as he tried to form the words to answer the old human's question. "I-" Suddenly his hair flew into his face as he shook his head to clear it long enough to form a coherent sentence. His eyes moved to meet Dumbledore's blue ones and he finally answered, "She's dead."

The headmaster's brow wrinkled in puzzlement. "Who is dead, my lord?"

"Kagome."

/

At the sound of a gasp, Harry and Hermione turned from Ron's still-unconscious form to find Shippou's clawed hand clasped in his robe, over his heart. His eyes started to tear up and he began to breathe harshly.

"Shippou?" The boy's watery blue-green eyes turned toward Hermione, and she suddenly knew that something was seriously wrong. "What's happened Shippou?"

"I can't sense her. I can _always _sense her! The only reason I can think of for not being able to is…is…" He broke off as his silent tears now became sobs.

Hermione was confused for a moment, but took only a few seconds to realize that the smaller boy was referring to his mother, and that he was implying that she had died. "No! No, Shippou. There must be some other explanation. Maybe she's just gone too far away or something so you can't sense her. That must be it! Maybe she flooed back to Japan or something and forgot to tell you!"

His sobs abruptly changed to tearful laughter as his eyes were enveloped in understanding. "That's it!" Another half-sob, half-laugh escaped his mouth as he tried to explain. "She has gone somewhere! I _knew_ that too! I can't believe that I freaked out!" The laughs took on a hysterical edge, and as they continued they again began to turn to sobs. Hermione moved forward to embrace the smaller boy as he apologized for his behavior. "I'm so- so s-sorry! I know she m-must be alright, b-but I c-can't stop c-crying!"

"Ssh. You were scared something had happened to your mother. It's perfectly understandable to be relieved. Just go ahead and let it out. It'll make you feel better," Hermione said as she rubbed Shippou's back soothingly.

Harry just looked on in confusion and slight apprehension as Shippou cried and Hermione comforted. After all of the tears had stopped and Shippou pulled away from Hermione's embrace, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and apologized to the two humans that were currently conscious.

"Oh hush, Shippou. You have nothing to apologize for. Right Harry?"

"Uh, right." He was quiet for only a second more before he asked, "So, where did your mum go exactly? It is her you were talking about, right?"

Shippou's eyes widened, which combined with his tear-stained cheeks made him look completely innocent as he lied and said, "Uh…China?"

/

"Huh. This is really creepy."

The glowing pink ball that was Kagome's barrier stood out starkly against the darkness within the Veil. The glow of her energy was able to light up the area around her, but pitch black nothingness met the light mere feet from her body. A multitude of whispers, however, kept the Veil's interior from experiencing the silence typically associated with death.

Kagome shivered. "Okay, I want out of here." But instead of moving back the way she came, the miko took a few steps forward before freezing. "Maybe it's not a good idea to walk around in here. Umm…okay, a test. Right." She took a deep breath and then extended a hand in front of her body. With another breath for concentration, the hand began to glow softly as Kagome stated "Lumos" in a voice that did not betray her nervousness about her surroundings.

The bodiless whispers stopped momentarily at the display of magic within the void, but began again more excitedly as an entirely different type of light began to emit from Kagome's hand. And then, with a grin of satisfaction she ended the spell. "Yes!" She celebrated her small victory for a moment more before she contemplated her next actions. Another grin appeared on her face as she suddenly exclaimed, "Maybe I don't need to _find_ his body!"

Once more her hand was extended and began to glow. This time, however, the glow was accompanied by a soft "Accio." The whispers stopped again and waited, as Kagome did, for something to occur. After five minutes of nothing happening, Kagome sighed in disappointment and closed her eyes in frustration. The whispers did not start again though, and Kagome soon noticed this fact. "Why is it still quiet?"

Movement caught out of the corner of her eyes attracted her attention. She turned her head to find that her Summoning spell did, in fact, work. Sirius' body came to a stop just outside her barrier and in one swift movement she extended the barrier to encase him and then took several steps backward until she was once more outside of the Veil.

Once back in the Department of Mysteries, Kagome released the barrier and stared at the Veil in disbelief. "That was way easier than I thought it'd be!" She shook her head slightly to regain her senses, and then dropped to her knees to get a better look at Sirius. '_Oh, he's kinda cute for a dead guy_.' She quickly glanced over his body to make sure that nothing was wrong—besides the fact that he was dead—and gasped. "He's breathing!" Her voice reverberated off of the walls of the cavernous room, causing her to clamp a hand over her mouth sheepishly. But even this small mistake could not dampen the brilliant smile that was slowly spreading across her face.

Taking care not to be too loud this time, Kagome started rambling to herself. "I can't believe he's alive! This should make everything so much easier! This means his body still contains his soul, right? So I don't have to find a way to recall it to his body!" She quickly grabbed and unsheathed Tenseiga and stood to swing it across Sirius' body but then suddenly hesitated. "If he's breathing does that mean that he's in a coma or something? Can Tenseiga even take care of something like that? I mean, it's not death and it's not an injury…" Shaking her head to stop her own digression, Kagome once more took a stance to swing the sword.

/

'_Where am I? I was...fighting…before. Why?' _Sirius' breathing became more stable as he rejoined the land of the living, but his mind was slow to recover as he sluggishly attempted to figure out where he was, and why he was there. It took only a moment to start remembering the circumstances of his disorientation, however. _'The Department of Mysteries…Harry's in danger…Harry…'_ "Harry!" Sirius suddenly yelled, jolting into a sitting position. He looked around the chamber wildly, expecting to find the continuing battle. He was surprised to find only a concerned young woman.

"Are you alright?" Kagome's eyes shown with worry as she observed the mildly panicking man before her, but she made no move to approach him. When she received no answer, she tried again. "Sirius? Are you alright?"

"Who are you? What's going on? Where's Harry?" Sirius was firing off questions rapidly, trying to find his godson and make sure he was safe. His mind suddenly caught up with his mouth though, when he asked, "How do you know my name?"

Kagome made a calming noise and said, "You need to calm down, okay? Breathe deep for a minute, and when you've calmed down a bit I'll explain." The older man still looked bewildered, but followed her instructions despite any reservations he may have had about her. When both his breathing and his shifting eyes were mostly steady, she began to answer his questions. "My name is Kagome Higurashi. I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, and I'm a friend of Harry's, which, by the way, is how I know your name." That got his full attention. He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand to stall another flood of questions. "Harry is safe at Hogwarts, and he misses you a lot. You've been 'dead' for months, Sirius," she said, using air quotes to let him know that he hadn't really been dead.

"What do you mean dead? I'm obviously alive! And months? I couldn't have been out for more than a couple of hours!" Sirius began to get hysterical again, and she had to wait for him to calm down before responding.

"Sirius, during your fight with Bellatrix Lestrange, you were hit with a spell that sent you through the Veil. You were assumed dead, and from what Harry told me, he reacted to your death quite violently. He actually tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix." Sirius' eyes widened at that, and he looked dismayed. Seeing this, Kagome explained that Harry had of course failed because he lacked true intent to cause pain, and then continued. "Lord Voldemort and Uncle Albus apparently showed up shortly after that, a big fight ensued, Harry was temporarily possessed, and eventually the Minister showed up with some Aurors in time to see that Voldemort is alive. It's been months since then, Sirius, and Harry has been depressed. He misses you, and I think it's about time for him to get his godfather back."

By the time she was finished speaking Sirius was doing a very good impression of a fish, and despite the seriousness of the situation, Kagome couldn't help but giggle and point it out to him. He immediately clamped his mouth shut and blushed. As a distraction from his obvious embarrassment, he asked more questions. "So I've been dead for months. How am I here now then? And was anyone else hurt in that battle?"

Kagome confirmed that there were no other casualties in the battle—although there were several arrests—and then explained that he hadn't actually been dead when she found him. He shot her a look that clearly implied that she was crazy, and she huffed. "It's true! When I brought your body out of the Veil to revive you, you were already breathing. Since you had been removed from the environment that was keeping you in your coma-like states, you probably would have eventually recovered on your own. Tenseiga and I only sped up the process."

"You mean your original plan was to revive me? That's impossible! The dead can't come back to life! And who's Tenseiga anyways?"

"Not who, what. Tenseiga is a legendary sword of healing that has the power to bring back the dead. There are limitations, of course, one of which is that it needs a body in order to work right. So even if you hadn't been breathing, I probably could have brought you back." She tilted her head in contemplation. "Then again, Tenseiga may not have found you worthy of being revived, or you might have been content with being dead. Who knows?" She shrugged. "That's why I didn't tell Harry about my plan though. I didn't want to get his hopes up, only to have them crushed when you stayed dead."

There was silence for several moments, neither of them knowing what else to say. Sirius was trying to figure out how to ask if they could leave the Ministry, when Kagome suddenly bolted up from her slumped position. "Oh! I forgot to tell you! Shortly after your death the Ministry declared you innocent. You were completely cleared of all the charges you were imprisoned for, and Fudge even gave a public apology for such 'grave injustice' or some crap like that." She grinned at him, but he just stared at her in disbelief (yet again). She had just started to feel nervous under his stare, when he suddenly lurched forward to catch her in a bear hug.

She was about to ask him what the hell he was doing, but he let out a bark-like laugh and dragged them both to their feet only to spin her around in happiness and grin like an idiot. When he stopped, he continued to hold her and grin until he caught sight of her blush. The sight of the red on her cheeks brought him crashing back down from his euphoric high and, realizing that he just pulled a stranger into a rather intimate position, he quickly released her and stepped back with an awkward cough, a blush blooming on his cheeks as well. "Sorry. Got carried away there."

Desperately trying to get the flush off of her face, she quickly replied with a "No problem." The two stood in another awkward silence before Kagome cleared her throat and suggested that they leave.

"Hey, umm, Kagome?" Once he had her attention, he asked, "I can see Harry, right?"

"Well duh. Of course you can see him. I didn't bring you back to life just to keep you a secret from him. You're gonna come to Hogwarts with me as a surprise for him! Ooh, how are we gonna make our grand entrance? We gotta plan this out Sirius!" Her sudden shift in demeanor caught the man off guard, but he grinned at her excitement.

"We've gotta pull off a prank! My friends and I were infamous in school, ya know? It's been over a decade since I stepped into the school as a free man, so my grand re-entrance needs to involve a prank of epic proportions!" Now it was her turn to grin at his excitement. As she half-listened to him spout out ideas, she couldn't help but think that his smile made him seem years younger—and even hotter. _'What? What's with that cheesy, clichéd thought? I mean the guy's good looking and all, but I definitely should NOT be thinking about that right now! We're supposed to be planning an entrance and a reunion!'_

Regardless of her internal scolding, a blush had formed on her face and Sirius had noticed through his ramblings. He surprised himself though when a thought of _'She's cute'_ flitted across his mind. Kagome suddenly wasn't the only one with a blush on her face, but being the bold Gryffindor he was, Sirius just had to bring up the subject on his mind. "Hey Kagome? Are you seeing anyone right now?"

"What?"

She nearly tripped over her own feet with that question, and his blush disappeared to be replaced by yet another grin. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"Are you seriously asking me that right now? Not only do you not know me, but you were just brought back to life! Well, kinda. But that's beside the point!"

"You still didn't answer the question."

She had stopped after her near fall, and was now staring at Sirius like he was insane (which might be a little bit true). She hesitated for a moment but then answered truthfully. "No. I'm not seeing anyone right now."

"So…You wanna go out some time?"

She continued to stare at him, but then gave a small laugh of disbelief. "Are you serious?" She suddenly smacked a hand over her mouth when the 's' word came out, but before she could take the question back, he smirked and answered.

"Well yes. As a matter of fact I am."

She groaned at the corny pun and said, "Just for that, if you were actually asking me out, my answer is 'no' now."

"That's not fair!"

He pouted at her and it was her turn to smirk as she leaned forward to teasingly pinch his cheeks. "Aww, you're such a cute widdle baby!"

He quickly wiped the pout off of his face and yelled, "Oi! Not funny!"

She laughed, but thinking back on the conversation gave her an idea. "Hmm…You know what? Yeah, I'll go out with you. Right now. We still haven't decided what to do for our surprise entrance, so let's go get something to eat and we'll plan. We'll have to put a glamour on you, of course, to keep your 'resurrection' a secret. That sound okay to you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well then, let's get outta here and get some food! I bet it's almost early enough for breakfast by now!"

/

"'Ey 'Arry?"

"Swallow Ronald!"

The redhead glared at his female friend, but complied with her order before continuing. "What's wrong mate? I thought your mood was getting better, but you're acting all depressed again."

Harry just blinked out of his daze and looked at his friend for a moment. "I'm alright. I'm just thinking 's all."

Hermione was just about to express her concern for her raven-haired friend as well, but they were interrupted by Harry's head snapping to the open doorway of the Great Hall, where Kagome walked in nonchalantly, as if she hadn't disappeared for a night. She walked up to the head table and sat in her customary spot and struck up a conversation with Professor McGonagall of all people.

The trio exchanged confused glances, but returned to their food fairly soon, knowing that their questions wouldn't be answered just yet.

/

Minerva McGonagall was confused. It was not often that she found herself in such a state, but it had become increasingly common ever since her colleague/student had been hired as the DADA professor. That did not mean that she didn't enjoy the girls' company—Merlin knows that their times together are always fun—but Kagome was often very random with her conversations. It was for this reason, Minerva mused, that they were discussing her Animagus form at breakfast. They weren't even discussing the transformation in general—just McGonagall's own form. While confused, the older woman had no problems with the topic, however.

"I've seen you transform before, but I've never noticed it. They really look just like your glasses?"

"Yes, although I'm not quite sure how you could have missed them. My markings are very distinctive."

"Really? Could you transform so I can see?"

Again, McGonagall was confused, but she saw no harm in humoring the girl. She effortlessly shifted into her cat form, but just as the transformation was complete she heard barking. Her head shot toward the still-open doors of the Great Hall, and was surprised to see a giant black dog running toward her. The thought of changing back did not even cross her mind, as some obscure animal instinct told her to _run_. She bolted from underneath the staff table toward her Gryffindors, but the dog she didn't want to thinking about recognizing followed, barking the whole time.

Around the hall, students and teachers alike stared in bewilderment. Only Kagome seemed outright amused, and she couldn't hold back her giggles any longer. Between gasping laughs, she yelled, "Change back already, Minerva!"

The shout snapped the woman out of her dog-induced fear and she shifted back to her normal harsh-looking human self. The dog slid to a stop in front of her and started to make strange snuffling noises, almost like it was laughing. Without even thinking about what she was saying, McGonagall yelled, "Sirius Black! How dare you! Detention!" After the words left her mouth, she and everyone else in the hall froze. Her hands flew to her mouth as she gave a shuddering gasp, and stared at the pleased dog. The dog actually managed to grin and then stood on his back legs to plant his front paws on her shoulders and give her a big, wet doggy kiss.

With another snuffling laugh he retreated to the nearby Gryffindor table to find his godson. It didn't take long to spot the boy, who looked like he didn't know whether to cry, laugh, or have a temper tantrum. When the Animagus approached him, the boy settled for a shuddering laugh and hugged his dog of a godfather around the neck. "It really is you, isn't it? She brought you back!" The dog nuzzled his neck in reassurance before pulling away and shifting into the previously-deceased godfather of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Hey kiddo. Heard that bastard Snape was giving you a hard time, so I just had to come back to kick his arse." Sirius sent a half-joke and a shaky smile at his godson, hoping that Harry really did believe it was him.

His fears were proven unfounded when Harry—his brilliantly brave godson who he thought deserved so much more—threw all dignity to the wind and tackle-hugged his godfather in front of the entire school.

/\\\\\/\\\\\/\\\\\

Well, it's been a while huh? Now, something that anyone who still reads this thing should know: I'm not sure I'm gonna go any further than this. I'm gonna label it as 'complete' simply because I'm not all that interested in writing it anymore, but I obviously didn't create a definitive end, so if I ever decide to pick it up again then I can. My stories have stretched over years now, and my writing just isn't improving enough for my taste. I might write a oneshot or two in the future, but I think I'm content to just leave this kinda open-ended. Let your imaginations deal with the Voldemort problem and the world's response to Sirius and to McGonagall's reaction to the prank and anything else I didn't deal with. ^_^

This chapter was completely unedited by the way, so if there are any glaring mistakes it's because I didn't proofread (or reread previous chapters to see what I wrote).

So…Thank you to everyone who has ever put me or this story on alert or on their favorites, and thank you for all of the reviews that I have received (and will hopefully continue to receive)!


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